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In her novel Hope Leslie Catharine Maria Sedgwick supplants the importance of strict adherence to religious tenets with the significance the human conscience and following ones own heart This central theme of the novel is intimated to the reader in the scene where Sir Philip Gardiner a character that completely defies this ideal is described Although he had a certain erect and gallant bearing that marks a man of the world his dress was strictly puritanical 124 In other words even though his demeanor is completely unlike that of a puritan he adheres to the outward seeming of one The scene describes in detail these markings and intimations of his person that would indicate an attitude not befitting a puritan His face suggested the ravages of the passions while his constantly roving eyes indicated a restless mind 124 The only signs of Sir Philips puritanism are his pretenses and his clothing and these are enough to convince society he is a religious man quite a dandy quaker 125 Sir Philip is hailed as a godly and approved member of the congregation 152 He is considered such an exemplar of the puritanical faith that he is deemed a more appropriate match for Hope than Everell While Sir Philip maintains the outward appearances of a puritan Everell while his puritan principles remain uncorrupted has little of the outward man of a pilgrim indeed 150 When Mr Fletcher asks Winthrop about the validity of Sir Philips supposed credentials Winthrop replies that he thought the gentleman scarcely needed other than he carried in his language and deportment 155 While Sir Philips principles are untested and Everell clearly rests on puritanical principles Sir Philip remains the preferred choice for Hope because he has all of the seeming of a puritan Sir Philip they later discover is not a puritan at all If his society would have only looked past his pretenses they would have

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